6 concessionaires to start inspection of ECG assets – Ing. Owura

The Millennium Development Authority(MiDA) has told Citi Business News the authority has engaged the six concessionaires participating in the ECG Private Sector agreement.

The six concessionaires who are currently in the country participated in a bidders conference held in Accra yesterday to discuss the 51 percent stake to be controlled by Ghanaian investors in the ECG PSP project under the Power Compact Two, with the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

It will be recalled that the conference was scheduled for October last year but was suspended after the Public Utilities Workers Union(PUWU), led by the Trades Union Congress petitioned the Mahama government against it.

Speaking to Citi Business News after the first Bidders Conference, the Chief Executive Officer of MiDA, Ingineer Owura Safo stated that the concessionaires will soon undertake an inspection of ECG installations.




“We are going to have a one-on-one meeting with them because each of them will have their own issues. We need to talk to them to explain the process for them. The process is very expensive for them. We need to clarify the process for them. After the process is completed, one concessionaire will be selected,” he said.

Ing. Owura stated that the process will include an inspection of the ECG plants and installations.

Dispelling the misconception that the PSP is a privatization, Ing. Owura stated that the ECG will not be sold.

“The ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project aims to strengthen the governance and management of ECG by bringing in an acceptable concessionaire to make investments designed to reduce technical, commercial, and collection losses and improve service quality,” he stressed.

“MiDA continues to work together with all stakeholders on this journey of identifying the best qualified private sector partner for ECG. This partnership will transform the ECG in terms of technology in power distribution,” he said.

“Let us seize the opportunity together to improve the power situation in our dear country,” he added.

The Bidders’ Conference facilitated interaction between the shortlisted Applicants for the ECG Concession and potential local and international investors.

About the ECG PSP Transaction

The Government of Ghana signed the Ghana Power Compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government foreign aid agency, on August 5, 2014.

The Ghana Power Compact provides Ghana a grant of Four Hundred and Ninety Eight Million, Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$498,200,000) to improve the performance of Ghana’s power sector to unlock the country’s economic potential, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

The Government of Ghana is committing at least US$37.4 million of its own money.

The major project under the Ghana Power Compact is the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, which is designed to transform ECG into an efficient and financially strong institution through private sector participation (PSP). About US$351 million of the MCC grant is being invested in ECG.

The project seeks to bring about private sector participation in investments into, as well as the management and operation of, the ECG through a concession arrangement.

Under the concession a private partner will invest in ECG and improve its operations to reduce commercial and technical losses, reduce the frequency and duration of outages, introduce new equipment and technology, and reduce the vulnerability of the distribution system to theft and meter manipulation.

The Compact is being implemented by the Government of Ghana through the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).

About MiDA

MiDA is a Ghana government agency created in 2006 by an Act of Parliament. The Authority has been mandated by the Government of Ghana to implement the Ghana Power Compact, which seeks to address the root causes of the current problem of unreliable power supply in the country.

Source: citibusinessnews.com